Roman T. Gill

Roman served as a combat infantry sergeant in the 25th Infantry Division (nicknamed Tropic Lightning ) for eight long months during the Korean War. The majority of his time serving was in the rugged mountains of North Korea. He and his band of brothers, Ed Nuding, Charlie Wright, Teddy Baraszski, and Tex Marmorino, served proudly and somehow survived the war without a physical scratch. Roman was honorably discharged in November of 1952.

The true start of his new life journey likely started around July of 1952 in the rugged mountains of Yaggue County, Korea, (e.g. The famous Punch Bowl). This was the last stage of Roman’s time serving as a combat soldier, and it was at the moment he knew he had made it out alive that he decided he was going to live the rest of his life with all the gusto a person can put into a life.

In the summer of 1953, he joined his fellow soldiers by taking advantage of President Roosevelt’s GI Bill. With a little pushing from his best friend Dan Wielgus, he ended up joining Dan at U.W. Stout in Menomonie, Wisconsin. He received his BS in industrial education in 1957, and his MA in education in 1961. At Stout, he found a new band of brothers, who he became lifetime friends with. Roman then taught eight years in Rock, Michigan and one year in Kewaskum, Wisconsin, before he landed his dream job at Escanaba High School (EHS) in Escanaba, Michigan.

Along the way, he married Gayle Ramseth of Rock at St. Joseph Church in Perkins on August 8, 1959. Together they raised two sons, Christopher and Robert, and enjoyed 63 years together until Gayle’s passing in April 2023. Like many of their generation they owned and lived in one home, residing together on 8th Avenue South for 55 years. At Escanaba High School (EHS)

Roman was able to teach machine shop full-time, working alongside ten other outstanding shop teachers, enjoying times together at and away from work! His hard-nosed teaching style was not for everyone, but to the students who loved shop he was a great teacher.

Sports were a major part of Roman’s life. He played football, basketball, track and softball as a high school student, and intramural sports in college, with bowling being his best sport. He also developed a life long love for the Green Bay Packers and the Milwaukee Braves (later Brewers).

Roman always thought about coaching and attending U.W. Stout gave him the knowledge and the skills to eventually become a successful head football, basketball, and track coach for the Rock Little Giants for 8 years.

During his time at Rock, Roman was able to lead his basketball teams to three district titles, and his track team to two regional championships. In his later years, he looked back on his life at Rock with pride, and he attended many Rock class reunions, and purple joined green and gold as his favorite colors.

He found coaching at EHS to be difficult at times, as he was a small-town coach at heart. In 1969, Bob Thibault took over as head basketball coach and he asked Roman to be his JV coach and assistant bench coach.

Together they coached the famous 1972 undefeated team. In 1975, they both stepped down from coaching, and although they never coached again, they left coaching with honor and pride, and many great memories. Most importantly, they never lost their love for the game.

Roman retired from teaching in 1990, and whilst he took great pride in being a shop teacher he thoroughly enjoyed retirement. Swimming twice a week at the YMCA, taking trips, attending Army and Stout reunions, volunteering with the American Legion, Harbor Tower Board and St. Anne’s Church, puttering in his garage and yard, and living with Gayle as snowbirds in the Orange Beach, Alabama area for over 25 winters. But above all, he loved being at his cabin, or fishing one of the U.P.’s many small lakes.

In the early 1970s Roman built a unique A-frame style cabin on Cook Lake, located 10 miles from the little town of Trenary. Roman’s first cousin, Pike Kozicki, who was a master craftsman himself, once said, “The cabin is a testament to Roman’s skills as a shop teacher.”

Wife Gayle was able to bring the spirit of the old Larson’s cottage at Noreen Lake alive at Cook Lake. Together they made the cottage a place of countless social gatherings and their guest book features thousands of guests’ signatures and stories. They would end up calling the place Letni Domek, which is Polish for Summer Home. You cannot put into words how much it meant to Roman that he was able to share his cabin with

his kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, friends, and family. It was his Magnum Opus.

You do not live to be 95 years old without experiencing loss. You end up out living a lot of your good friends and in Roman’s case, his beloved wife Gayle, who passed away in April 2023. You also lose the ability to physically do the things that you love to do.

For Roman however, he carried on at his new home in Niles, Michigan with all the gusto that a 95-year-old person can give to life. His two sons became his new band of brothers, and he enjoyed eating three big meals a day, telling incredibly interesting stories, puzzling, watching sports, reading the newspaper, playing cribbage, and always finding time to attend mass and pray.

Roman is survived by his loyal sons, Christopher Gill (Linda Metzler) of Berrien Springs, Mich. and Robb Gill of Columbus, Georgia. He was blessed to have two grandchildren, Martina (John) Gilruth and Joshua (Erin Koren) Gill, as well as two great grandchildren, John Gilruth and Theodore Gilruth. Roman shared time with his 12 nieces and nephews. Roman is also survived by two sisters-in-law, Janet Ramseth and Geraldine Ramseth. He was preceded in death by his only sibling, Virginia Stanik Phillips, brothers-in-law Curtis Ramseth, Roger Ramseth, Paul Stanik, Leo Phillips and Byron Dowse, nephews Paul and Nick Stanik and sister-in-law Marie Dowse as well as many extended family members and friends.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Friday August 9 at 11 a.m. at St. Anne s Catholic Church in Escanaba, Michigan. A fellowship meal followed. Private graveside services will be held at Gardens of Rest Cemetery, where Roman will be laid to rest alongside the love of his life. wife Gayle Anne.

Roman was part of two major social revolutions. In the 1950s he was part of the 2.2 million soldiers who flooded college campuses, thereby changing colleges from being upper class aristocratic places to what college campuses are today.

In the 1960s he was part of the teacher revolution at EHS, which was one of many school systems which would have a very strong teaching association (e.g., unions).

The days of teachers being low wage workers who lived in boarding houses with no retirement benefits quickly ended because of this revolution. All this good fortune led to Roman and his family living a good life.